Former investment manager Rodney Forrest has been sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment for insider trading and procuring others to trade in more than $3 million of Platinum Asset Management Limited (Platinum) shares (ASX: PTM).

In August 2024, Mr Forrest secretly accessed the computer of the Chairman of Regal Partners Limited (Regal) without permission and photographed confidential takeover documents (‘Pitch Deck’). He then traded and procured others to trade in Platinum shares before leaking details of the takeover to the media, making over $300,000 profit for himself.

 The Federal Court in Sydney today sentenced Mr Forrest to five years imprisonment for insider trading and two years for procuring others to trade, with one year of the procuring offence to be served cumulatively with the insider trading offence. With a total sentence of six years and a non-parole period of three years, Mr Forrest will be eligible for parole on 22 January 2029.

His Honour Justice Bromwich’s sentence also took into account a further offence that Mr Forrest provided unlicensed financial services as an investment funds manager to two entities over a 9-month period.

This marks the first outcome for ASIC’s new specialist insider trading team which investigated and finalised the case within 16 months of the offending. The matter was prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (CDPP).

ASIC’s market surveillance team detected Mr Forrest’s suspicious trading activity in September 2024. ASIC’s insider trading team quickly launched an investigation, which led to a search warrant being executed on Mr Forrest’s home in November 2024 and charges being laid in August 2025.

Prior to being charged, Mr Forrest adopted an agreed statement of facts for sentence and agreed to plead guilty at the first mention of the matter in the Downing Centre Local Court. Mr Forrest also agreed to forfeit the total realised profit from his insider trading of $309,571.84. The matter was committed for sentence to the Federal Court.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo said the prosecution of insider trading was an enduring priority for ASIC.

‘Mr Forrest’s actions were a brazen breach of trust and exploitation, and his imprisonment today reflects the seriousness of his crime.

‘While some insider trading cases can take several years, Mr Forrest went from crime to jail time in just over a year, underscoring ASIC’s determination to fast-track criminal cases of this type.

‘Insider trading is a zero-sum game. When somebody profits from inside information, everyone else loses, including every Australian with a superannuation or investment account.

‘ASIC will continue cracking down on insider trading and other misconduct that damages market integrity.

‘Australia is recognised globally for the integrity of its financial markets, and ASIC is determined to keep it that way.’

In delivering the sentence, His Honour Justice Robert Bromwich said, ‘This was serious and pernicious offending.’

‘Mr Forrest ... obtained the Pitch Deck deliberately and dishonestly ... what then followed in relation to the use of that information was plainly premeditated, even if it cannot be known how far in advance.

‘Mr Forrest ... made a conscious choice to do something he knew was wrong, dishonest and illegal.

‘It was a profound breach of trust to obtain that information, and an even more profound breach of trust to use it for the purpose of illegal share trading.

‘The whole point of the insider trading prohibition is ... to maintain the integrity of the market by creating and maintaining a level information playing field,’ His Honour said.

Since 2009, 46 people have been criminally convicted of insider trading following ASIC investigations, including senior executives and company chairs. The maximum penalty for the offence of insider trading is imprisonment for 15 years.

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Judgment

Background

In line with its 2025 enforcement priorities, ASIC established a dedicated insider trading team in late September 2024 to swiftly progress insider trading investigations and increase the number of criminal briefs referred to the CDPP.

In July 2024, ASIC released Report 787 Review of Australian equity market cleanliness (REP 787), which found that Australia’s equity markets continue to operate with a high level of integrity and remain consistently among the cleanest in the world.

While the report confirmed strong overall market cleanliness, it did identify a temporary deterioration towards the end of 2023. During this period, an increase in media reports of deal information ahead of takeover, merger and capital-raising announcements suggested potential leaks of inside information, indicating a heightened risk of insider trading at such times.

Management of inside information does not only matter to public companies. Industry participants involved in corporate transactions, including market intermediaries, corporate and professional advisers, fund managers and entities operating in private markets play a crucial role in supporting market cleanliness. These parties often have access to inside information and are responsible for maintaining confidentiality, supervising their representatives and handling that information with appropriate care.

Rodney Forrest pleaded guilty to charges in August 2025 at the first mention of the matter in the Downing Centre Local Court, following a six-month investigation by ASIC’s insider trading team (25-163MR).

In the statement of agreed facts filed with the Court in August 2025, Mr Forrest admitted: that while in possession of the inside information he:

• Acquired around $2.69 million worth of Platinum shares between 29 August to 10 September 2024.
• Procured two individuals and an entity (for whom Forrest was the unlicensed investment manager) to also trade in Platinum shares between 6 September to 16 September 2024, in the case of the individuals by encouraging them to buy, and in the case of the entity, by operating its trading account to purchase Platinum shares totalling $457,000.
• Leaked the inside information to the media.

Based on the statement of agreed facts filed with the Court, Mr Forrest admitted to the following chain of events:

Editor's note:

The background of this media release was edited on 23 January 2026 to reflect Mr Forrest acquired $2.69 million of shares and address a transcription error.